


At the Cost of Everything

by DraconisFelicis (Ravenhoot)



Series: Musings of the Santos Brothers [2]
Category: Caraval Series - Stephanie Garber
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Julian's POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-07-10 07:52:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19902316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ravenhoot/pseuds/DraconisFelicis
Summary: The scene at the end ofLegendarywhere Tella reunites with Scarlett after the game, but from Julian's POV.SPOILERS: Obviously, spoilers forLegendarybut also some forFinale.





	At the Cost of Everything

Julian tensed when he saw Jacks enter the garden courtyard with Tella in his arms. Something had gone wrong. Jacks, along with all the rest of the Fates, should be dead. Julian had dared to hope that the next time he saw Tella, it would be next to Legend. Then the four of them could celebrate Tella's victory at winning Caraval and enjoy the remaining festivities of Elantine's Eve. 

Julian felt a surge of hatred toward the Prince of Hearts. It was because of him that Scarlett had asked Julian to do the unthinkable. She wanted to meet her former fiance. To give him a chance and she had asked Julian to understand. He told her he did, but it was a lie. He'd promised not to lie to her anymore, but he couldn't tell her the truth. The truth that he wanted her to choose him. It was selfish and he knew if he held her back, he would later regret it. He wanted her to choose him, not feel like he was her only option.

If he didn't love her so much, he would tell Scarlett to just go off and marry the count. He doubted she meant it the way he perceived, but he couldn't help but feel like she wanted to see if there was something better out there and if not, then settle for Julian. But Julian was not content to be a fall back in case her dream husband didn't work out. It hurt him deeply to not be enough for her. 

And now, to add to the night's misery, the Prince of Hearts had shown up, carrying Tella like a victorious knight, when it should have been Legend. Julian knew better than to think Jacks had killed Legend - if his brother had died, Julian would have felt it. 

So, what on earth was Jacks doing with Tella?

Scarlett had already sprung up from the bench to accost Jacks. Julian didn’t see a reason to stop her. He snapped his head up, however, at Jacks’s mention of Legend. 

“...and Legend, being the gentleman that he’s not, just left her there.”

“You met Legend?” Scarlett asked with equal parts awe and curiosity. 

Julian’s stomach flipped backward as he waited with heavy anticipation of what Tella’s reply would be. He was relieved - it sounded as if his brother had left the encounter unscathed. But he was also curious since it sounded like Legend did indeed reveal his identity to Tella. 

“So, he was already gone when you got there?” Julian addressed Jacks directly. Jacks said nothing but his sneer might as well have been a reluctant yes. 

“I–” Tella began. Confusion and hesitation highlighted her face as she spared a glance to Jacks. Julian’s pulse quickened. He didn't want to draw attention to himself, but he couldn’t let Tella reveal Legend’s identity to the Fate. But he needn't have worried; Tella seemed physically incapable of speaking. Julian let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Legend must have put her under the same spell as his performers - she wouldn’t be able to speak his true name if he didn’t want her to. 

Tella instead gave a vague answer about Legend walking away almost immediately after she won the game, but Julian would have bet anything she was lying. 

Jacks spoke to Tella briefly about her mother before setting her into the stone embrace of one of the garden’s statues. It was only when Scarlett helped Tella down from the statue that Julian realized why Jacks had been carrying her. She seemed as incapable of walking as she was of saying Legend’s real name. 

“Do you need any help?” He offered. 

Scarlett shook her head with a weighted look. Julian knew she was ready to create distance between them, but he wasn’t ready to let her go. He’d never willingly let her go. As if to prove that to her, he pressed a light kiss to her cheek before addressing her sister. 

“I’m sorry,” he said to Tella. 

She looked up miserably at him and he knew she understood who he was apologizing for. Julian had thought his brother was changing - thought he’d seen a spark of something he had long thought extinct. The way his coal-black eyes would dance with flecks of gold when he’d update Julian on Tella’s progress during the game had made Julian dare to hope that it hadn’t just all been an act for the game. 

“He can make someone the center of his world when they’re a part of his game. But when the game ends, he _always_ walks away and he never looks back.”

“But he _did_ look back,” Tella murmured softly. Scarlett, who’d been fussing over Tella’s weakened state, hadn’t heard her. But Julian had. 

He gave Tella a sharp look. Tella’s bottom lip quivered and her eyes grew glassy, the way they do just before tears fall. She was telling the truth. Legend still walked away from her, but this time, he’d looked back. 

“It doesn’t matter,” Tella went on. “I’m just glad the game is over.”

Julian recognized her comment as a dismissal of the topic. Whatever else she had to say about Legend, she didn’t want to say in front of her sister. Which was fine by Julian. He’d need to speak to his brother first anyway to find out if Scarlett was allowed to know his identity. Julian could hardly see a way around it now. If Tella knew, it was only a matter of time for Scarlett to know as well. 

Julian pulled on the back of his neck. He wanted to say something else encouraging to Tella, but he couldn’t think of anything that would make her feel better. He also desperately wanted to find his brother and find out what in all the hells happened in the Temple District. Jacks was supposed to be dead. 

He cast the sisters another glance, lingering just long enough for them to ask for help if the needed it. But no one spoke and after a long pause, he turned and left the garden. He had a lot of questions that needed answering, but when he heard the sisters talking softly, he stopped on the other side of the garden wall. 

He knew how his brother could be. But ever since Legend had brought her to Julian three nights prior, inches from death, Julian's suspicion had grown. Legend had told Julian he only cared about finding the cursed Deck of Destiny, but the fear in his brother's eyes that Tella might have died that night had been genuine and Julian didn't believe it was just because of a Deck of Destiny. Julian was sure his brother would argue that without Tella, they wouldn't have found the cards, so of course, they needed her to live, but Julian knew it had to be more than that. If he'd only wanted Tella to survive her encounter with the Undead Queen so she could help them find the cards, Legend wouldn't have cradled her so possessively against his chest. He wouldn't have laid her delicately on the bench and tenderly brushed her sopping wet hair away from her face, whispering reassurance to her that she would be okay. 

At the time, Julian had wondered why Legend had brought Tella to him at all. Legend's own blood would have been more than enough to heal her. As Julian thought back on it now, he recalled how frantic Legend had been when he'd arrived to their private quarters with Tella. 

_"Bloody saints, brother! What happened to her?"_

_"The Undead Queen. Help me with her, quick! She's dying!" Dante's voice shook with fear and rage._

_Julian cleared away books and papers from a cot. "Give her to me, I'll summon Jovan," Julian offered._

_"No," Dante ordered. "This has nothing to do with the game. Keep the other performers out of this." He seemed reluctant to let go of Tella. He laid her gently down onto the cot, smoothing a thick wet tendril of hair off her closed eyes. "What were you thinking going there alone in the middle of the night?" He addressed Tella's still quiet form._

_"What did they do to her?" Julian asked as he rummaged through the supplies for bandages._

_"I-" Dante swallowed thickly. "I don't know why they attacked her." He'd been kneeling by her side but abruptly stood up and slammed his fist against the wall and roared with fury._

_"Save your strength," Julian warned. "You're going to have to give a lot to save her."_

_"I know the risks," Dante argued. "It'll take more than usual, but it has to be done. Fates did this to her. She won't heal."_

_Julian held a silver knife in his hand, which he offered to his brother._

_Dante sliced his wrist open with a grimace and held it over a dented goblet. He hadn't even hesitated._

_"I thought the Prince of Hearts was the only Fate free?" Julian wondered aloud._

_"These Fates weren't fully corporeal. They were shadows, but ones that could still wound and maim. The cards stayed hidden for years. Maybe someone attempted to free them or the spell imprisoning the Fates is weakening."_

_"If that's true," Julian replied, "we're running out of time."_

_Dante's wrist still poured blood into the goblet. He'd grown significantly paler and his eyelids fluttered shut. Just for a second, but long enough for Julian to understand if his brother lost any more blood, he'd be in just as bad of shape as Tella. Julian roughly shoved Dante's wrist away from the cup. He drew the knife across his palm and squeezed his own blood into the chalice where it mixed with his brother's._

_"I told you it was going to take too much," Julian said as an explanation. He assessed the amount of blood in the goblet and nodded as if satisfied. He wrapped a cloth around his palm and carried the cup over to Tella._

_"Drink," he told her as he lifted her head up._

_Tella resisted at first but after the first drop of immortal blood touched her lips, she gulped the rest down._

_"Good girl," Julian said with relief._

_Tella had nearly drained the glass when Dante said, "That should be enough."_

_Julian took the goblet away and wiped it clean. He noticed that Dante stared down at Tella's once more still form. He didn't touch her, but his hand twitched as if he was holding back from reaching for her._

_"Find her sister," Dante commanded. "Get her into Tella's room at the palace. I don't want her to wake up alone."_

_Julian's eyes opened wider in surprise. He gave his brother a long, pointed glance before saying, "You really care about her?"_

_Dante continued to look down at Tella. After a pregnant pause, he met Julian's eyes and said, "I care about finding those cards, and she's our best hope for it, brother." His tone was calculated and careless. Anyone who didn't know him would assume he meant it. But Julian knew his brother and the way Dante's eyes kept flitting back to Tella, as if to reassure himself she was still safe, made Julian think his brother wasn't being entirely truthful._

Julian waited, hoping one of them would say something that answered one of the many questions that were swimming through his head.

“I made a mistake, Scar,” Tella said woefully. She spoke so softly, Julian had to hold his breath to hear her. 

“I never wanted to fall for anyone, but I think I’ve fallen in love with Legend.”

Julian leaned with his back against the wall. He pressed his knuckles against his mouth, deep in thought. That certainly did change things. More than ever, Julian needed to talk to his brother. He kicked off the wall with one heel and hastened to the entrance to the tunnel that would lead to Legend's new suite at the palace. 

**Author's Note:**

> So, obviously, the flashback is just my own thoughts on the scene. I have absolutely no idea what the missing dialogue was, but I wanted to explore the potential for that scene. Just my take on it.


End file.
